Chapter Two

14 1 1
                                    

Sprawled out in the backseat of the car, I watched the trees go by as the sun followed the car. My feet were up against the window and I wiggled my toes in the light as Ryder turned onto an unpaved road. I listened as rocks were crushed under the weight of the tires. Kymber had been dozing on and off in the front seat since we left The Frosty Queen and Ryder was silently sipping at some coffee he had gotten to go.

"Are we there yet?" I yawned, stretching my arms toward the hood of the car. "I want to go to bed."

"Sort of," Ryder answered, setting his coffee down. "We're in the driveway."

I sat up and looked around, brushing my mussed hair out of my face. I had expected to see something that told me we were actually on Ryder's property, but it honestly just looked like we were driving through the middle of the forest. The trees and land around us were still untamed and there were no houses or any sort of constructed building anywhere in sight. "Dude, this is the longest driveway I've ever seen."

Ryder chuckled at my shock. "The house is tucked away pretty well. It's impossible to see even in the middle of the winter when all of the trees have lost their leaves."

"So, what's going to happen when we open the door and spot a bear or a mountain lion on the front porch?" I questioned, sitting up and leaning forward enough to at least see one side of Ryder's face.

Ryder drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. "Silently close the door, lock every window in the house, and then assume the fetal position. Relax, you aren't going to see a bear or a mountain lion on the front porch."

"No, you're right. I'll probably see a wolf or a cougar or some other large animal that wants to eat my face off, but definitely not a bear or a mountain lion," I joked. He slowed to a stop in front of a plain white house with blue shutters. I lightly hit Kymber's forehead with the back of my hand. "Kymber, wake up. We're here."

She swatted my hand away, opening her eyes and glancing around her. Her eyes scanned what little area she could see before she lied back down. "Yeah, I'm not getting out of this car."

"Why?" Ryder said, taking another sip of his coffee.

"There's a bobcat over there," Kymber answered, nodding towards a direction to her left. I followed her gaze and spotted the large cat as well. He was just sitting there, about twenty yards away from us, his ears shifting to listen around him.

"See? I told you. Some other large animal that wants to eat my face off," I stated, waving towards the direction of the bobcat.

"But he isn't on the front porch," Ryder responded, taking the keys out of the ignition and twirling them around his finger. He nodded toward the bobcat. "Besides that, they don't really hang around during the day. That'll teach you not to go wondering around at night. Give him a little bit, and he'll probably sneak off to his home and sleep for the day."

"Yeah, and his bed is probably inside the house," I snapped, leaning back in my seat. "He's just waiting for us to make his move so he can make his and then kill us all when our backs are turned."

Kymber smacked her lips together. "You know, I had almost decided to get out of the car until you said that, and now I'm not moving."

Ryder glanced back and forth between us. "You two are being ridiculous. Get out, grab your stuff, and get inside."

Kymber turned her head and glared at him, her eyes narrowed. "Make us."

He returned her glare with one of his own, shoving his door open and getting out of the car. He slammed his door shut, and thrust the trunk open, snatching our bags out of it. Kymber and I watched with interest as he slammed the trunk and stormed into the house. After throwing our stuff inside, he stormed back out, and opened the car door, dragging Kymber and I out and tossing us over his shoulders. He shut the car doors by kicking them closed and walked back inside with Kymber and I clawing at him and screaming to be put down. It wasn't until he had shut the front door of the house that he finally set us on our feet. Ryder did all of that without the bobcat even batting an eye.

On the RunWhere stories live. Discover now